Edited by Frank Plowright, the Slings and Arrows comic Guide is the most comprehensive review of comics ever published. Sixteen reviewers offer informed commentary on over 5300 titles from the 1930s to the present day giving an overview of each series along with recommended issues. The 800 pages also include over 5000 creators listed in the index, and a color section offering recommendations in a variety of genres. Also included are short essays about the reviewers' favorite comics ever.
A rare gem of a guide for comics. A must read for every comics reader/collector. It covers every comic book (from mainstream to underground) published, for the English-speaking reader, in the last 70 years (up to 1995). I GAVE IT A FIVE OUT OF FIVE STAR RATING BECAUSE I AM VERY PLEASED TO GOT ONE AND READ IT (IN EARLY 2000s WHEN I'M IN COLLEGE); I APPRECIATE THE MEDIUM ( COMICS ) MORE WITH ITS RICH HISTORY AND OUTPUT. LOVED IT. I STILL KEEP MY COPY FOR REFERENCE.
One of the best books about comics I've ever read. It has potted critical summaries of virtually all US comics from the 1960s on, with significant inroads into earlier titles. Its only fault is that by some quirk almost all of Grant Morrison's comics get bad reviews - if you only read this book you'd wonder why he's as highly regarded as he is! I really hope they are working on a third edition - it would be great to see coverage extended to British science fiction comics like 2000AD and the Eagle.
How much do I love this book? Enough to own five copies of it juuuust in case something happens to the other four. I'm serious. It is an exhaustive, indispensable overview of 20th century comic books and the only one of its kind, to my knowledge. Sure, there are about a million books on the history of comics, but none that I know of that summarize and review everything they possibly can. And even if I don't agree with every review (some of these reviewers get downright snarky), it's still a treasure.
Not a bad review book, although some of their information is a little off, and of course it's rather outdated. Still, it's well written, whether one agrees with all of their opinions or not.